On Thursday, June 11, students of the Ateneo de Manila University attended classes wearing black in honor of Divine Adili and Rene Clert Baterbonia, members of the Ateneo men’s basketball team who tragically passed in a drowning incident in Dipaculao, Aurora, on June 8.
The Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola (Sanggu), Ateneo’s student council, had called for the university’s community to wear black “in grief and solidarity” as the families of Adili, 21, and Baterbonia, 19, seek transparency on the case, which reportedly took place during the Blue Eagles’ team-building activities at a beach resort in Dipaculao.
On Wednesday, some students also took part in a candle lighting vigil held by the Katipunan chapter of the League of Filipino Students, which called for accountability from the university administration, justice for Adili and Baterbonia, and an end to the “institutionalized culture of abuse” of student-athletes.
Police Say ‘No Foul Play’
According to Aurora Provincial Police Director Col. Percival Pineda, the coaching staff had requested for “privacy” from the resort management when the basketball team arrived. The team reportedly ignored warnings from the resort management about the sea’s conditions during the incident. The bodies were found around five meters off the shoreline, 30 to 40 minutes after Adili and Baterbonia were reported missing. Aurora police also found that the drownings were “purely [an] accident,” and that they saw “no foul play.”
In the early morning of June 9, Baterbonia’s mother Rovelyn said in a Facebook post that she had yet to see her son’s remains in person or in a photo when news of his death began circulating. “Wala kayong [respeto] sa aming [pamilya] na hanggang ngayon, wala pa talagang [binigay] na balita sa totoong nangyari,” she said.
The Ateneo administration said that it had coordinated with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to carry out an autopsy on Baterbonia at the request of his family. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Manila also put out a request on Wednesday, June 10, to have an autopsy conducted on Adili’s remains before they are transported back to Nigeria.
On June 11, the NBI deployed a dedicated task force to investigate the drowning incident independently. According to the agency, the police’s “no foul play” finding only “speaks to the absence of intentional harm,” but does not determine “whether these deaths resulted from negligence in the conduct of the activity.”
“An event may be ‘accidental’ in the sense that no one wished it, and yet remain the product of a failure to exercise the care the law demands,” the NBI said in a statement.
Ateneo to Investigate Drowning Incident
In a statement issued on June 11, the Ateneo administration said that it will hold a fact-finding inquiry to “exhaustively examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, reconstruct a transparent timeline, review all athletic protocols, and interview every individual present.”
“Based on what we have gathered from those present, the team was engaged in a conditioning exercise in knee-deep water near the shoreline when they were suddenly engulfed by massive waves and a powerful rip current,” said the statement signed by University President Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Yap. “While most of the players managed to fight their way back to safety, Rene and Divine were pulled away. We state categorically, to protect the dignity of our fallen players, that no weights of any kind were used during this exercise.”
Ateneo also said that Head Coach Thomas Anthony “Tab” Baldwin and Team Manager Christopher “Epok” Quimpo have been put on leave for the duration of the inquiry “to ensure all participants can cooperate freely without any actual or perceived pressure.” Baldwin was also asked by the university to refrain from speaking publicly about the case.
‘Uphold Transparency and Accountability’
Buklod Atenista, the alliance of all the student governments from the country’s Jesuit higher education institutions, released a statement seeking a “complete accounting of what transpired.” “We emphasize that the loss of two students under the care of a university-sanctioned activity cannot simply be met with condolences […] We are deeply concerned by the lack of clear and comprehensive information surrounding the incident.”
Other Ateneans told Rolling Stone Philippines that they were saddened by the passing of their fellow students. The students opted to remain anonymous in this story for their safety.
“As someone who was just a freshie, I felt particularly affected by how Rene was just an incoming freshman and went to Ateneo to support his family,” says A, a sophomore at Ateneo. “I just wish he was protected more, and that Ateneo informed Rene and Divine’s families [of] the situation of their children before informing the media and public.”
“Rene and Divine’s passing is greatly tragic. Upon seeing the news initially, I felt a sense of grief and deep sadness knowing that these student-athletes were young men working towards not only their own dreams, but also the dreams of their families. Their journeys ended too soon,” says fourth-year student Y.C.
They add, “With the amount of unverified information circulating, I retain faith in the involved organizations in bringing the truth to light. I hope for justice to be brought to their names through resolving unanswered questions. I trust in the institution to live up to the values and principles it has instilled in us students by upholding transparency and accountability in the pursuit of justice for their very own.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Divine Adili, 21, and Rene Clert Baterbonia, 19, were members of the Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team (the Blue Eagles). They tragically died in a drowning incident on June 8, 2025, during a team-building activity at a beach resort in Dipaculao, Aurora. Baterbonia was an incoming freshman at the time of his death.
According to Ateneo de Manila University President Fr. Roberto Yap, the team was doing a conditioning exercise in knee-deep water near the shoreline when massive waves and a powerful rip current suddenly struck. Most players made it back to safety, but Adili and Baterbonia were pulled away. Their bodies were found approximately five meters from the shoreline, 30 to 40 minutes after they were reported missing, according to Aurora police, who found the deaths were accidental with no foul play.
Yes, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has deployed a dedicated task force to independently investigate the deaths of Divine Adili and Rene Clert Baterbonia. The NBI clarified that the Aurora police’s “no foul play” finding only addresses the absence of intentional harm, but it does not rule out whether the deaths resulted from negligence. Autopsies were also requested by both Baterbonia’s family and the Nigerian Embassy on behalf of Adili’s family.
Ateneo announced a formal fact-finding inquiry to reconstruct a transparent timeline, review athletic protocols, and interview everyone present during the incident. Head Coach Tab Baldwin and Team Manager Christopher “Epok” Quimpo have been placed on leave for the duration of the inquiry to allow participants to cooperate without pressure. The university also coordinated with the NBI and the CIDG to facilitate autopsies at the families’ request.
Students held a candle lighting vigil on June 10 and a campus-wide black-wearing day on June 11 to mourn Divine Adili and Rene Clert Baterbonia. The Ateneo student council (Sanggu) called on the community to wear black in grief and solidarity, while the Katipunan chapter of League of Filipino Students demanded accountability and an end to what they called an “institutionalized culture of abuse” of student-athletes. Buklod Atenista, an alliance of Jesuit university student governments in the Philippines, also released a statement calling for a full accounting of the incident and urging transparency from the university administration.
